Randhawa best Indian making the cut at Gleneagles

PERTHSHIRE - Jyoti Randhawa shot a second successive two-under 70 to be the best Indian golfer at the midway stage of the Johnnie Walker Championships at the Gleneagles.

Randhawa is now four-under 140 for two days and tied for 23rd after 36 holes here Friday.

The two other Indians making the cut were Jeev Milkha Singh (72) and Gaganjeet Bhullar (74). Jeev (71-72) and Bhullar (69-74) were tied for 49th. Shiv Kapur (76-73) and S.S.P. Chowrasia (77-74) missed the cut.

There was a three-way tie for the lead when David Lynn joined European Tour rookies Julien Guerrier and Gary Boyd.

Randhawa had birdies on first, second, 10th and 12th, while he dropped shots on fifth and 15th. Jeev two-under through 10, dropped three bogeys in a row from 12th to 14th before picking a consolation birdie on 15th in his 72.

Bhullar, who was the best Indian at 69 after first day, dropped after a two-over 74, with four birdies, three on front nine and one back nine. He also had three bogeys on either side of the layout.

The 36-year-old Englishman Lynn has been a European Tour regular for over a decade, but despite consistently finishing in the top 100 on the Race to Dubai has only one victory to his name at the 2004 KLM Open.

Boyd and Guerrier are enjoying their first seasons on The European Tour - France’s Guerrier came through last November’s Qualifying School, while England’s Boyd secured his card via The Challenge Tour.

After missing out on last week’s Czech Open in a play-off to Peter Hanson, Boyd looks to have already secured his card for next season, and he admits that with the pressure off he is setting himself some lofty targets.

Spain’s Miguel Angel Jiménez carded a 68 and he is also six under par at halfway, three behind the co-leaders. Swede Hanson won last week’s Czech Open to move into eighth place on the points table and since he is also six under at halfway - so are Molinari and his brother Francesco - it looks like becoming a battle between Jiménez and Dyson.